The Weekly Update Archive: Federal Updates

August 22, 2025

Message from Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman The following message from President Rothman providing updates on work occurring over the summer related to several federal issues. As the fall semester begins, rest assured updates will be shared via appropriate campus channels and through the Universities of Wisconsin Federal Updates webpage. As students return to […]

August 8, 2025

White House Orders on Grantmaking and Admissions On August 7, President Trump acted on issues related to oversight of federal grantmaking and admissions practices at institutions of higher education. The Universities of Wisconsin continue to review these orders and will share relevant updates with university stakeholders as appropriate.  Should you wish to review the documents, […]

August 1, 2025

Senate Appropriations Committee Markup On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup of the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Acts. You can watch the archived markup at the preceding link and review the FY26 LHHS Bill Summary. The legislative text and committee report will also be posted on […]

July 25, 2025

Political Activity Guidance Reminder As a reminder, as uncertainty continues around the emerging federal landscape, Universities of Wisconsin employees should be mindful of political activity and public advocacy guidelines. Activities such as sharing a petition or contacting a legislator for political purposes using your university email address or state resources to engage in political campaign […]

July 18, 2025

This has been a light week legislatively on issues we are monitoring, so we do not have any updates to share this week. Recent Federal Actions Department of Education: Secretary McMahon Statement on Supreme Court Victory for Future of American Education Department of Education: U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor Implement Workforce […]

July 11, 2025

Reconciliation Update On July 1, the Senate passed H.R.1, which provides for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H.Con.Res. 14 with an amendment via a vote of 51-50. Vice President Vance cast the tiebreaking vote. Following further consideration, on July 3, the House of Representatives agreed to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1 via a vote of 218-214.  The […]

July 2, 2025

Reconciliation Updates On July 1, the Senate passed H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with an amendment via a vote of 51-50. Vice President Vance cast the tiebreaking vote. The legislation was sent back to the House of Representatives where debate is ongoing. As of mid-morning July 2nd, the House of Representatives is expected […]

June 27, 2025

Reconciliation Updates Over the past week, the Senate Parliamentarian reviewed H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act against the Senate’s “Byrd Rule”.  As revealed by the Senate Budget Committee’s Ranking Member several provisions appear to violate the rule, which – if interested – you can read the Ranking Member’s press releases. As these provisions are […]

February 10, 2025

FROM: Chris Patton, Interim Vice President for University Relations, Universities of Wisconsin DATE: Feb. 9, 2025 Late Friday, the National Institutes of Health notified the Universities of Wisconsin and other higher education institutions across the country that “there will be a standard indirect rate of 15% across all NIH grants for indirect costs in lieu […]

January 29, 2025

Earlier today, the Trump administration rescinded its OMB directive implementing a sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans. The decision came after U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing the order in response to a legal challenge from a network of nonprofit organizations. This order, which only applies […]